Deputies: Toddler found shoeless in parking lot while mom was at club

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly named another woman as the mother of the children in the story. We apologize for this error.

A Fort Mill woman is facing charges after deputies say her toddler son was found wandering shoeless around an apartment complex parking lot.

According to the York County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the Palmetto Place Apartments on Saturday night around 10 p.m. after a two-year-old boy was seen in the parking lot alone.

A woman and her boyfriend saw the two-year-old, according to deputies, and asked where he lived. The young boy was dressed in only a shirt and pajama pants; he was not wearing socks or shoes.

The couple took him back to his apartment, which was unlocked, and found the boy's four-month-old sister alone in the home in a crib.

The couple took the children back to their apartment and called deputies.

When deputies arrived they searched the home and found it empty. They made contact with the children's mother, 26-year-old Colleen Louise Pellettiere, who told deputies she was on her way back home.

Pellettiere arrived at the home more than an hour after deputies arrived at the home, according to the report. Deputies noted that she was wearing only a halter top and black tight pants, no jacket or shoes. Deputies also noted that the temperature was low and it was cold outside.

When asked why she was dressed that way, Pellettiere's response was she "had left the house dressed like that."

According to deputies, Pellettiere had a black stamp mark on her right hand that resembled ones that are commonly used to get into clubs and bars. When asked, she never could explain why the children were left at home alone, deputies said.

The Department of Social Services was brought to the home and took the children. They were placed with a foster care family in Lake Wylie. The children's father currently has a pending case with NC's Children's Protective Services and is not allowed to have unsupervised visits with the children.

Pellettiere was charged with two counts of Unlawful Neglect of Children.